According to the intelligence in Aila’s hands, the reinforcement unit included an entire legion of the royal guards from Lionheart City, numbering about ten thousand. In addition, there were two thousand high-rank adventurers, including members of Starlight Moon Shadow, each possessing at least the strength of a High-level Swordsman or High-level Mage.
It had to be admitted that this elite force of over ten thousand, along with its massive supply train, presented an awe-inspiring sense of deterrence. Watching the magnificent army slowly advance, the heavy burden in the hearts of the group was finally lifted. Riding Kiteclaw, they crossed the city wall that had been ravaged by magic the day before and landed in the middle of the road, quietly waiting for the column to arrive.
Before long, the reinforcement legion completed its march over the final few miles.
The vanguard noticed Midir and the other three waiting in the road from a distance. They immediately signaled for the main body to maintain formation and continue advancing, while the leaders at the front picked up their pace, urging their horses forward to greet them.
The leaders this time happened to be people Aila knew well, so there wasn't much unnecessary small talk. Aila gave a brief introduction of the group.
The sturdy middle-aged man in the lead, wearing full plate armor emblazoned with a lion crest, was Ferdinand, the Legion Commander of the 12th Guards Legion. He had originally been a retainer of the House of War God before being recommended to join the royal guards. He had come here as the commander of the reinforcement unit.
Upon seeing Aila, Ferdinand immediately leapt from his horse and greeted them heartily. His face, tanned dark by the sun, featured piercing eyes and a thick beard that radiated a sense of martial prowess.
“Little Aila~ It’s been a long time!”
Behind him was a mature female mage of exceptional grace, dressed in a crimson robe. Her name was Julia, and she belonged to the mage division of Aila’s adventuring group, Starlight Moon Shadow. It was said her strength was close to that of an Archmage.
Julia gave Midir’s group a concise nod, but her gaze was quickly drawn to the scene behind them. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the remains of the melted city wall before landing on Midir with a look of curiosity.
The other two were the Deputy Captains from the adventuring groups Thunder Dragon and Blood Rose. The tall, thin man named Ralph had once represented his group in an attempt to recruit Midir.
The other was a petite woman named Mia, dressed in a green skin-tight outfit with a longbow nearly as tall as herself slung across her back.
“You’ve worked hard clearing the way these past two days. It looks like you encountered a fierce battle here?”
After a brief greeting, Ferdinand looked at the ruins of Juna’s city gate and voiced the question they all had.
“I wouldn't call it a fierce battle, but it was certainly disgusting. The three of us barely lifted a finger; that mess back there was all his doing,” Aila said with a shrug, pointing at Midir.
“So this is the Mr. Midir that Aila has been mentioning lately? Hmm... he is indeed unique and quite impressive~” Julia approached them with a relaxed, slightly lazy tone. Her large eyes sparkled with curiosity and admiration as she gazed at Midir as if admiring a perfect statue.
“Huh? Say, Mr. Midir, why do you look so familiar to me? Have we met somewhere before?” As she spoke, she circled him several times.
“Hmm? You’ve seen me? When was this?” Midir’s attention was immediately captured by her words, and he followed up with a quick question.
Midir’s dead-serious questioning made Aila roll her eyes. With an embarrassed smile, she gently patted Julia, who seemed infatuated with Midir’s appearance, and teased, “Hey, hey, Sister Julia, you didn't come here to flirt, did you? Wake up! Stop being such a fangirl!”
“Heehee, is little Aila jealous? I’m perfectly lucid. I really feel like I’ve seen this Mr. Midir somewhere before~ He just looks so familiar! I’ll tell you when I remember~” Julia burst out laughing, joking with Aila in a playful tone.
Listening to their banter, Midir sighed helplessly and gave up on pursuing the matter.
Aila then began to summarize the information gathered over the past two days regarding the black monsters. She reported everything to the newcomers without missing a detail, including the monsters' numbers, their curse-like attacks, and the weakness of the fleshy lump on their heads.
“Miss Aila, are you saying that you encountered a swarm of monsters in Juna so large they were difficult to count?” Ralph, the Deputy Captain of Thunder Dragon, asked thoughtfully after listening.
“Yes. Since it was near nightfall, it was hard to get an exact count, but I believe there were at least ten thousand. Therefore, I think the reinforcement unit should prepare countermeasures; we can't rule out the possibility that there are even more of them,” Aila answered truthfully, expressing her concerns.
At this point, Mia, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up, calmly joining the discussion.
“Based on our current deployment, we have over five hundred mages with us. Facing the number of enemies you mentioned shouldn't pose too much of a challenge.”
“However, we still need to be cautious. We are about to enter the interior of the city-state, and it’s already late autumn. Once we enter the mountains, we certainly can't use fire magic indiscriminately. If we start a forest fire, the losses would outweigh the gains. We need to consider other options,” Blake quickly added.
“That makes sense. Sister Julia, your performance might be limited then. But we’ve already planned a relatively wide route. Everything will depend on the specific situation at the time.”
As Aila spoke, she took the map from Blake and pointed out the route they had drawn for the others.
After some discussion, no one objected to the route. A moment later, the force of over twelve thousand men set out again, traversing the deserted city of Juna and heading toward Azure Fortress on the distant ridge.
Because the supply train carried a large amount of baggage and equipment, they couldn't travel in a straight line across the ridges. They had to follow the winding mountain roads, which meant their arrival at the destination would be delayed.
Fortunately, there were two medium-sized cities along the way where the troops could rest, ensuring the army wouldn't be too exhausted from the forced march through the mountains.
Looking at the distance on the map, if all went well, the army would reach the first city along the route—Loka—before nightfall.
Unlike Juna, which was more of a border pass, Loka was a proper residential city with a population of nearly a million. While it couldn't compare to a true metropolis, it was not a small place for the Azure City-State built upon the mountain ridges.
“Once we round this peak ahead, we should be able to see Loka. I hope everything is alright over there,” Blake said with a hint of worry, checking the map as he led the way at the front of the column.
“Since you said Loka has a population of a million, it should have some defensive capabilities, right? If it’s a monster attack on the scale of yesterday, it shouldn't be a problem...” Midir was saying, but he was suddenly cut off by Aila.
“Shh~ Quiet! Wait... there’s the sound of fighting!”
Aila’s slender ears twitched slightly. She knit her brows, and after straining to distinguish a faint sound from the distance amidst the noise of the marching army, her face instantly turned grim.
“What? Fighting? Have monsters appeared in Loka too?” Everyone exclaimed in unison at Aila’s news.
Just then, a scout who had been clearing the way ahead returned to the head of the unit at full gallop, looking panicked.
“Report! Lords! A massive swarm of black monsters has appeared in the canyon ahead and is attacking Loka! The numbers... are beyond count!”
“Not good! All units, attention! Increase marching speed! Prepare for battle immediately!” Ferdinand shouted with a grim expression after hearing the scout’s report.
His voice, amplified by Battle Qi, echoed through the narrow valley like a great bell, shaking everyone's soul. The power and clarity of his voice ensured the command reached the units far to the rear.
The army responded instantly, adjusting their marching state. The soldiers' steps became firmer and more forceful, and the speed of the entire column increased significantly, like a long dragon swiftly weaving along the mountainside.
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